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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is right to want to promote breastfeeding, but his administration’s “Latch On NYC” campaign is an exercise in excess. First announced in May, the campaign is asking maternity hospitals to 1. ban formula feeding of newborn infants unless medically indicated; 2. restrict access to formula for hospital staff by locking it up and reporting its distribution to the New York City Health Department.

Lock up infant formula and track it as if it were a controlled substance? That’s not only unnecessary, but is both demeaning and disrespectful of a woman’s right to make her own choice about how to feed her infant. It’s also based on an awful lot of wrongheaded assumptions.

“Human breast milk is best for babies and mothers,” said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, one of the four city officials — all male — quoted in the campaign’s press release. “When babies receive supplementary formula in the hospital or mothers receive promotional baby formula on hospital discharge it can impede the establishment of an adequate milk supply and can undermine women’s confidence in breastfeeding.” It’s true that breastfeeding has real health benefits over formula feeding, but the benefits are actually relatively small. As a hospital poster for the program acknowledges, there is only solid scientific evidence for the claims that breastfeeding decreases the risk of ear infections, diarrhea and pneumonia. But all that other stuff you may have heard about — such as breastfeeding raises a child’s IQ — is based on conflicting evidence that is often plagued by confounding variables.

But more problematic is the fact that the “Latch On NYC” campaign does not acknowledge that in addition to the benefits, breastfeeding also has substantial costs. For many women, breastfeeding is difficult, painful (especially at the beginning), and may be inconvenient for those who need to return to work. That doesn’t even take into account the fact that some women have serious breastfeeding difficulties that result in infants who fail to thrive. And these are the problems for women who want to breastfeed. Many women don’t want to breastfeed at all.

The “Latch On NYC” campaign explicitly attempts to prevent the use of formula even though many mothers successfully feed their babies with breast and bottle combined. A bottle of formula can soothe a frantic infant before a mother’s milk comes in, can spare a mother another painful nursing session during the early days when breastfeeding can bring blisters and soreness, and can allow a mother to get desperately needed sleep while someone else feeds the baby.

Moreover, there is simply no evidence that the “Latch On NYC” policies will have any impact on breastfeeding rates. Most mothers give a great deal of consideration to feeding methods before they have their children — their decisions are not based on their ability to access formula in the hospital. The most likely outcome of storing formula in locked cabinets is shame for mothers who ask for it, and extra, unnecessary work for nurses who have to retrieve it, monitor it and record it. Breastfeeding activists also fail to acknowledge that women who ask for baby formula have made their choice already. It may not be the choice that activists want for them, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to make it harder for women who have made that choice.

The idea of locking up formula is disturbingly similar to the idea of mandating ultrasounds for women who want to terminate a pregnancy. Just as anti-choice activists justify mandatory ultrasounds by claiming that a woman can still choose abortion, Mayor Bloomberg insists that women will still be able to choose formula feeding, and that there is no harm to providing them with more information. But in both cases, it’s about creating obstacles (and shame) for women. When it comes to breastfeeding, Mr. Mayor, here’s a good rule of thumb: Her baby, her body, her breasts, her choice.

The ignorance that abounds in the articles you write is astonishing. It is so funny that every time I begin to read an article that seems so incredibly uneducated and lacking any factual basis you almost always end up being the author. your extremely uneducated opinions on home births and midwives to defending the "choice" of mothers who wish to formula feed for no medically indicated reason your words are truly laughable. It is so ironic that you blast mothers who make an informed decision to birth at home and you undermine their choice to do so since you personally feel it increases the risks of poor outcomes, yet you completely ignore the risks of formula and the risks that formula poses to infants compared to breast milk when not absolutely medically indicated. No wonder women give up so easily these days with "doctors" like yourself who think that a little bit of pain and inconvenience is an acceptable reason to switch to formula if the mother "chooses." Parenting is not convenient and undermining breastfeeding bc a bottle can provide a temporary fix is extremely ignorant advice and is honestly disturbing considering that formula feeding is listed as only the FOURTH best option for optimal infant nutrition after breastfeeding, expressed milk and milk from another mother. What other fourth rate practices do you advocate for and defend when it comes to the care of infants? It is so pathetic that doctors like you are allowed to continue to practice with all the twisted misinformation you put out there. you should be ashamed of yourself.

This is an incorrect interpretation of the initiative. The "ban" refers to hospital staff providing supplemental formula feeding to otherwise healthy infants of mothers who have CHOSEN to breastfeed. It is not a law forcing all women to breastfeed nor is it shaming women who chose not to breast feed. It is meant to discourage hospital staff from providing unwanted and unnecessary formula and providing free formula to families upon discharge from the hospital, an unethical practice that was started so that hospitals could avoid purchasing formula in exchange for promoting the formula companies product. As for the benefits of breastfeeding being exaggerated, this simply is not the case the AAP and world health organization (WHO) both strongly encourage breastfeeding. It is best to get your information from organizations that evaluate a variety of data sources when developing guidelines rather than from news media sources that try to sensationalize everything. Dr. Amy, if you want to make breastfeeding a feminist issue try focusing on laws that protect a woman's right to breastfeed in public, stronger maternity leave policies, and providing more medical coverage for lactation support so that the "cost" of breastfeeding mentioned above (breastfeeding is difficult, painful, and may be inconvenient for those who need to return to work, and breastfeeding difficulties resulting in infants who fail to thrive) are addressed.

oh Dr. Amy, thank you so much for making me feel normal, I had 2 c sections and bottle fed my children, Im not a horrible mother at all!! yes I cried and screamed for the epidural, I hated breastfeeding, and I was scared to death of natural childbirth. Many of my friends had easy childbirth at home. That is nice for them, it doesn't always work that way. Thank you for acknowledging That Epidurals are good, Bottle feeding is good and that Childbirth is dangerous and frightening for most of us. I feel like a real woman!! And a good Mother!!And yes Childbirth can be very very painful and very very frightening

wow the entitlement in america is astounding. is it really your right to have FREE formula for your baby just because you think breastfeeding is icky?

anyways, i thought the issue with hospital staff suplimenting with formula was taken care of since they banned use of the nursery. the baby only leaves to have tests done and the feeding has to be done by mom.

For shame. Does formula protect against breast cancer? No. Breastfeeding is much more than marginally better, and you know it. I have read your blog. Why are you so bitter, threatened by other women, and angry? You could reach more people and actually help instead of provoking them and stirring dissension.

I breastfed my two girls many years ago and it amazes me today that breastfeeding is not always the first choice for new moms, especially when considering all the health benefits for the baby AND the mom. I came across a contest from insidershealth on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/pin/18647... and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Inside... whose prize is a pricey breastpump for the winner. All you have to do is enter a photo of you and your baby. I think it's a great way to support breastfeeding! Ultimately though, I believe every mother's decision should be hers and hers alone.

You are unbelievably and shamefully wrong about the benefits of breastfeeding being minor and controversial. Don't people care about facts anymore? Not only is breastfeeding much better for babies - everything from reducing SIDS to obesity to increasing IQ -- it's also great for moms, including reducing breast cancer rates. http://www.womenshealth.gov/br... This is just one of a thousand sources I could point you to. In addition, you apparently haven't worked in a hospital before - EVERYTHING is locked up, including pens and bandaids. Why should only formula be unlocked? Because it's "free"? Free for whom? The NYC policy is sensible because it treats formula like anything else and also recognizes that easy access for formula does decrease women's breastfeeding rates.

Free samples from formula companies are still the norm in many hospitals so, for many young moms, their choice to breastfeed exclusively or not is greatly influenced by the ready availability of formula. The problem is that babies often prefer bottles because the formula comes out faster, with little effort. So, once they get used to bottles, they nurse less and less. With only 1/3 of American infants being exclusively breastfed at the very young age of 3 months, it is very important to avoid bottle feeding for as long as possible. Also, nursing helps to re-balance the mother's blood copper/zinc ratio, which would prevent postnatal depression (from an excess of blood copper), so nursing exclusively is very important for the mom.

The advocates of breast feeding fail to ever mention that infants die from dehydration when they aren't getting enough mother's milk while breastfeeding. The child is rushed in to an emergency room, but it is usually too late. Brain damage or worse has occured.

I am a firm believer in breastfeeding and the benefits as well as cost savings. That being said, this is BS!! Most women know whether they want to breastfeed or not before their child is born. It's just one more thing to control the freedom of women.

what about the women who can't or just don want to breastfeed. Tell the major that with hormones the men can breastfeed . Give the men that choice i bet it doesn't go over! especally if the women put it in effect to gain power over their bodies

There are many, many reasons a woman might choose not to initiate breastfeeding in the hospital. Sometimes victims of sexual abuse are uncomfortable with breastfeeding to the point that it can trigger a panic attack. Women taking medications that are passed on in breast milk or women who have had cancer or breast surgery might not be able to do it. Thank goodness we have a healthy and safe alternative easily available for them to nourish their babies. The bottom line is that it is none of anyone's business how a woman decides to feed her baby, as long as she feeds him.

This is the most under-researched, biased, ignorantly written article I have ever read...I don't know who you are Ms. Tuteur, but you obviously know, or choose to know, very little about what's best for a woman's body and especially what's best for a baby's body. "...the benefit's are actually relatively small"...when talking about breastfeeding...??? Are you kidding me??? No man-made formula on the planet has the ability to give a baby the antibodies it can ONLY receive from it's mother's milk. You want to give your opinion, well, I suppose you have the right, but please, at least get your facts straight before you try to impose your view on others. The last time I'll be reading an Op-ed piece from Time that's for sure. I normally don't comment on articles I read, but the information in this article was just way out of line...and yes, I am a woman, who works, and I breastfed both my c-section delivered children...was it hard? At first it CAN be difficult, but it doesn't last long and very soon it becomes second nature and you realize its the most natural thing in the world and I don't regret a second of it. As mother's we are supposed to put our comfort and needs second to our children and kudos to the mayor and others in the Health Department for starting this, whatever their reasons for doing it are, it will benefit the health and well-being of babies and mommies. Now maybe he can do something about improving school lunches for our children...yuck!

Oh and can we PLEASE, I mean for the love of god, PLEASE stop using this woman as a source for scientific information? Her occupation is a BLOGGER. Yes, folks, that is what she does and has been doing for the last 20 odd years.. blogging. TIME: you gotta get it together.. this is getting ridiculous.

Breastfeeding only prevents pneumonia, ear infections and diarrhea.... obviously it's useless! I know I love when my newborn is bombarded with uncontrollable diarrhea, pneumonia ( such not a big deal) and those lovely ear infections. Pfft. I am SO not breastfeeeding.. sign me up for that delicious formula! YUM!

My vagina, if I were to pretend for a moment that it was "given" to me, has the express purpose of being a receptacle for male genetic material, and of passing babies through it. Good thing I don't have to use it that way if I don't want to. It's a great thing that breasts are the same way.

Nestle, as I said before to someone else, is primarily a food conglomerate, and not a pharmaceutical company. I believe Nestle owns a few smaller pharm companies with L'Oreal that focus on skin problems, but this is a tiny sliver of their business. Formula is not a pharmaceutical product. I love how people like you use the word pharmaceutical like it's a bad word. I guess people with ear infections should just put garlic in their ears, people with cancer should just pray, and when fido gets a bad case of worms, well that's the natural order of things.

Ecfinn, last time I checked, formula wasn't manufactured by pharmaceutical companies. Nestle is a food conglomerate. You might want to adjust your tin-foil hat a bit.

Also, perhaps you are not from NY, but Michael Bloomberg is hardly one to stand in the face of corporate interests. He is a billionaire businessman, who has historically favored pro-corporate legislation, including tax breaks for large corporations among other things.

Somtimes I wonder what the other animal kingdom thinks about as to how humans deal with procreation, including breat feeding! Of course animals do not know how humans deal with it! However, it is a fact of life that they have less if any problems! Most of the problems humans face have been self-created!

What don't you understand? It doesn't make any difference whether it is advisable or possible for a woman to breast feed. The libs have decided that they want women to breast feed - end of discussion. If, for some reason, you are physically unable to do so, the government will assign you a wet nurse.

There are laws established all the time to encourage people to do what's best for them like being required to wear a safety belt, the age at which it's appropriate to buy alcohol, etc. These initiatives encourage the public to make a wiser choice for our own health and well-being. I'm not likening formula feeding to making a potentially dangerous choice but i am definitely suggesting that some women would benefit from more support for nursing and less availability of formula.

Studies are clear that breastmilk is better - and NOT marginally so - and you need only do a search on the Internet to determine that. This article fails to mention breastmilk's effects on a newborn's immune system through antibodies that formula does not provide. It provides more than 100 ingredients formula cannot match and is tailored by every mother's body to suit their specific baby's needs. If it is really only a little better as the author indicates why is so highly recommended by the AMA, AAP AND WHO? The fact is it is far superior nutrition for a newborn.

I honestly don't see the harm in not providing FREE formula. Nothing else you get in a hospital is free, lest you think otherwise. That Advil will cost you or your insurance $7 and that bedpan you used will be billed as well. So to those who say the formula wil be locked up out of a parent's reach YES the FREE formula will be locked up and out of reach. I'm assuming that if a mother decides of her own volition that she wants to formula feed she can provide her OWN formula and do so in the hospital without being arrested. If I am wrong, please correct me. The initiative also simply requires that a valid medical reason be cited for each sample if formula provided. That does NOT mean it has to be signed off on by a doctor. That means sore nipples, exhaustion, poor latch, etc. could all be potential medical reasons, people. It simply makes it so the PATIENT has to request the formula rather than the hospital staff suggesting it as is so common.

There are laws established all the time to encourage people to do what's best for them such as being required to wear a safety belt, the age at which it's appropriate to buy alcohol, etc. These initiatives encourage the public to make a wiser choice for our own health and well-being. I'm not likening formula feeding to making a potentially dangerous choice but I am definitely suggesting that some women would benefit from more support for nursing and less availability of formula.

Studies are clear that breastmilk is better - and NOT marginally so - and you need only do a search on the Internet to determine that. This article fails to mention breastmilk's effects on a newborn's immune system through antibodies that formula does not provide. It provides more than 100 ingredients that formula will never be able to match. It is custom tailored by every mother for their baby's needs. If it was only a little better why is it so highly recommended by the AAP, WHO and AMA? The facts are it is far superior but much less encouraged because of Western culture. It's hard. it's socially awkward. It can be painful. YES - But it is still nutritionally superior and should be encouraged.

I honestly don't see the harm in not providing FREE formula. Nothing else you get in a hospital is free, lest you think otherwise. That Advil will cost you or your insurance $7 and that bedpan you used will be billed as well. So to those who say the formula wil be locked up out of a parent's reach YES the FREE formula will be locked up and out of reach. I'm assuming that if a mother decides of her own volition that she wants to formula feed she can provide her OWN formula and do so in the hospital without being arrested. If I am wrong, please correct me. The NPR article I read stated that a medical reason must be documented every time a formula sample is provided. This does NOT mean a doctor has to sign off. A valid medical reason could be anything from exhaustion to poor latch to jaundice to sore nipples, people. It just means THE PATIENT will have to initiate rather than the hospital staff.

we really do NOT need the government involved in PERSONAL CHOICES...government is worse then big corp..because yea you may like the policies today but what if someone goes in and changes it later down line and it takes more freedoms away later..

the government should NEVER get involved with personal choices..

you want to take properganda out of hospitals then fine..do it across board lets not just focus on formula..

The doctor acknowledges that there are some small benefits to breastmilk as compared to formula. That said, those benefits aren't so great as to outweigh a mother's right to unashamedly choose formula if she wishes. In an ideal world we would all breastfeed and then feed our children a balanced diet of all organically grown food. But the reality is that those lifestyle choices are expensive and inconvenient, making them out of reach for many families.

I wish breastfeeding proponents would spend their time fighting for paid maternity leave, free breast pumps, and paid pumping time at work. If you want to increase the amount of women who choose to breastfeed, that is the way to do it.

Not to mention putting the baby immediately to the breast causes the uterus to contract and slow bleeding, which in turn makes post partum pitocin less or unnecesary. Of course mz amy probably doesnt like that idea either, since administration of pitocin is "hospital policy" in most hospitals and therefor MUST be good. bleh.

yes and NO CHILD has ever been hospitalized because of the effects of poor formula handling, bad scheduling, bad stuff in the mix (glass comes to mind) dehydration because of allergy to cows milk, anemia for the same reasons, etc, etc, etc... oh wait.

Did you follow her link to the article with the research? I did. It suggests a small GI benefit to breastfeeding (4% of infants will experience 1 fewer incidence of diarrhea or vomiting) but they haven't been able to conclusively pin down any big benefit for conditions like allergies or obesity.

Before you tell a medical doctor to get her facts straight, you might want to know the facts yourself.

Everybody knows breastfeeding is better..but...Baby formula is not the same level as drunk driving. People wont die without drinking alcohol..and its not a life necessity..

baby formula saves lives..it does have benifits..and is in reality a necessity esp for parents that can not produce milk..children WILL DIE if they cant breastfeed or wont breast feed...

Government always trying to CONTROL PEOPLE..they think they are helping people but all they are doing is CONTROLLING PEOPLE..its completely wrong to create a really uber petty law for baby formula like this...

"government doesn't need to get involved with personal choices. period."

That's *obviously* not true; pls don't be thoughtless.

Government most certainly *does* need to get involved to enforce standards of behavior when it comes to recognition of the rights of minors and the basic responsibilities of parents/*legal* guardians. Some "personal choices" are in fact *illegal*, and only someone who's stark-raving mad would argue that they shouldn't be.

Breastfeeding/formula feeding does NOT fall in that category. It is a healthcare choice, but it is one that *every responsible parent should be obligated to make with as much information as possible.*Unless you subscribe to peer-reviewed scientific journals, the government is acting properly when it informs its citizens to the best of its ability so that their *PERSONAL CHOICES* can be *INFORMED* ones.

The fact that there is no such thing as a federal ban on the sale of cigarettes (despite well-established causation of non-communicable disease and increased risk to those exposed to second-hand smoke) speaks volumes about just how much the US govt has kowtowed to the willful ignorance of individuals like you.

He doesn't seem to know what he is. He was a Republican from 2001-2007. Before that, he was a Democrat. Since 2007, he has been an Independent. He doesn't seem to be wedded to a political party. He is addicted to power.

Formula has probably saved more children's lives then you give it credit for..

Sorry, you dont like free will and freedom of choice, but making it difficult for a parent to make a choice is WRONG on either side of the coin..

most people do know that breastfeeding is better... only neurotic individuals think they know what is better FOR EVERYONE when it comes to a personal choice like this ...it is not hard for anyone to breastfeed now..so i dont get what the issue really is? Seems like its just a few older people living in past... ..in the 70's they were more pushy about formula that isn't how it is today..

I am far from ignorant..and to be honest only someone that is nurotic or campaingin for the NYC Mayor Bloomberg would want to create more laws and regulations for hospitals to try and lock up formula and make it more difficult to choose.

I think most parents try to feed naturally..and if they try and it doesn't work out fine..

I personally liked the samples...in the end of things the baby will choose which formula is best. ...not the mother or doctor..that is why there are so many choices..i had to switch and tried all the natural formulas out there..and my child was very picky..and ended up making the one she liked the most..

I think they should take out ALL MARKETING MATERIALS out of hospitals not just formulas...if you are focused on that..but that really isnt what you guys are doing..you are attacking formula feeding..its pretty plain..

but what is with the attack on formula? Dont you have anything better to do? like create some regulations that help with pollution? or create jobs? instead of making it more difficult for people to make free choices and live ...

The seat belt law is wrong. The tests they did were inaccurate. Now, in my state just can just randomly pull anyone over not wearing one and honestly i have been in a accident that if i was wearing one would have died...so honestly, its a matter of circumstance..

only neurotic people want to make laws a a drop of a hat to enforce upon an entire group of people what the think is right for everyone else..

just like making it illegal to buy a large pop over 32oz..lol..dumb..that doesn't help anyone really its just a petty law..

baby formula isn't life threatening...in fact if you make it more difficult then it could be life threatening..and more inconvenient for our health workers..

do you have a source on that? Cause if it is true im gonna plaster it on every idiotic article or blog post she makes from now on, cause i feel that she is falsely advertizing herself to be a doctor if she no longer practices.